Faculty News - Archive

The UTEP Department of Music maintains a strong local, national and international presence through faculty presentations, performances, and clinics around the world. The past year has shown a marked increase in regional, national and international attention for our student ensembles through invitations to several high profile conferences.

2015-16

Dr. Ron Hufstader, Director of Bands

The UTEP Symphonic Winds recorded their final CD under the direction of Dr. Ron Hufstader. In addition, Ron Hufstader worked with Franklin High School Band Director, Danny Allen, to present the UTEP Drum Major Camp in the summer for area marching band student leaders.

Dr. Elisa Fraser Wilson, Director of Choral Activities

Dr. Elisa Wilson continues to be active in community engagement through performances of the UTEP Chorale at the El Paso Opera Gala Concert in August 2015 and two performances with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra.

The UTEP Chorale, under the direction of Dr. Elisa Fraser Wilson, traveled to Leeds, England in October 2015, to perform a series of concerts at the prestigious Leeds Cathedral, at the invitation of Ben Sanders, Director of Music for the Diocese of Leeds. UTEP students worked with the Leeds Cathedral choir and learned a great deal about the choral training tradition in one of the most prestigious church choral programs in England. UTEP students also worked with Cathedral Choral Director, Lucy Haigh, in one of the local primary schools as part of the Diocese’s community outreach program.

Richard Lambrecht, Director of Horn Choir

The UTEP Horn Choir, under the direction of Rick Lambrecht, presented a clinic and performed numerous times at the annual Texas Bandmasters Association Conference in San Antonio in July, 2016. The group additionally performed as pre-concert music at the April El Paso Symphony Orchestra Concert and gave numerous presentations/clinics throughout the city.

Andrea Shaheen, Oboe, Ethnomusicology, Director of Layali Al-Sham

Layali Al-Sham, under the direction of Dr. Andrea Shaheen, was invited to submit a recording for Arabs Got Talent, a television show similar to American Idol, based in Lebanon. While the group was ultimately not accepted to advance, it was still impressive for the ensemble to receive the attention of producers in Lebanon and show a positive trajectory for the ensemble.

Dr. Shaheen presented “Different Sounds, Same Sentiments: The Oboe and The Zurna in Syrian Music”, at the International Double Reed Society (IDRS) Annual Meeting in Tokyo, Japan and “Negotiating Capital: Syrian Performers and the Right to Play in Buenos Aires” at the 60th Meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology in Austin, Texas. Dr. Shaheen additionally published an encyclopedia entry, “Syria: Modern and Contemporary Performance Practice”, for the forthcoming Sage Encyclopedia of Ethnomusicology, which adds to her previously accepted article on the music of Lebanon. Dr. Shaheen has been very active in multidisciplinary work, most notably this year’s concert, “Suffering and Resilience” was a collaboration between the departments of Music, Dance, Language and 2 Linguistics, and Creative writing. The concert served as a tribute to the struggles of musicians in the Middle East who continue to perform in the wake of censorship, political instability, and sectarian violence. Taking place during the week-long #4Syria Music Lives Initiative, the concert served as one of many held across the globe in solidarity with Syrian musicians. Our performance caught the attention of a reporter at the NPR affiliate, Fronteras, who broadcast and published a piece on our ensemble and the concert. It aired a few days later to a consortium of NPR affiliate stations, and resulted in the national exposure of our UTEP ensemble. Finally, Dr. Shaheen was invited to return as Principal Oboist for the Palestinian National Orchestra, a UN sponsored organization that collaborates with the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music. Unfortunately, the concert tour was canceled due to the increasing violence in the West Bank.

Shaun Mahoney, Guitar

Zuill Bailey, Cello

Professor Zuill Bailey continues to maintain an international profile as one of the leading cellists in the world. He performed as a soloist with the El Paso Symphony, the Ravinia Music Festival in Chicago, the Interlochen Arts Festival, the Sitka Summer Music Festival to name a few. Under his direction, the El Paso Pro-Musica has engaged in a new partnership with the UTEP Department of Music to provide free master classes from all EPPM guest artists.

Dr. Oscar Macchioni, Piano

Dr. Macchioni was awarded a $4,500 City of El Paso Museum and Cultural Affairs Grant (CAP) to play concerts at underserved neighborhoods in El Paso. He also received a UT Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award. Dr. Macchioni also received an $8,600 Arts and Humanity Career Enhancement Grant to record chamber music by Astor Piazzolla in 2016. Dr. Macchioni was an adjudicator for Texas Music Teachers Association State Convention, Houston Music Teachers Association, The University of Arizona, and the International Keyboard Odyssiad and Festival, and performed five concerts in Thailand, with the Piazzolla da Camera Trio.

Dr. Stephanie Meyers, String Area Coordinator

Dr. Meyers secured grant funding to establish a new American String Teachers Association “String Project” on the UTEP campus. The string project provides early elementary music education training on string instruments as a vehicle for increasing musical literacy in the community and provide much-needed music education opportunities at the elementary level. The project includes two short summer camps and weekly rehearsals through the school year culminating in a concert at the end of the fall and spring semesters.

Cherry Duke, Voice, Director of Opera UTEP

Cherry Duke, performed as a soloist with the El Paso Symphony, the El Paso Opera Gala Concert, and presented Opera UTEP events at off-campus venues as a way of increasing awareness of Opera UTEP’s outstanding talent. Ms. Duke additionally presented two performances at US prisons with a new organization called Musicambia, whose mission is to create conservatories in prisons as a means of rehabilitation.

Dr. Dena K. Jones, Piano

Dr. Jones was a guest artist for the Orfeo Music Festival in Vipiteno, Italy and published a CD of chamber music with Summit Records titled The Haunted America Suite.

Dr. Melissa Colgin-Abeln, Flute

Dr. Colgin presented at the Canadian Flute Association Annual Conference, the University of Texas-Brownsville’s Flute/Clarinet Festival, and has been invited to perform at the University of North Texas.

Steve Haddad, Tuba, Commercial Music Area Coordinator

Steve Haddad selected and presented the 2015 Texas All-State Tuba etudes at the Texas Bandmasters Association Convention in San Antonio. Professor Haddad also served as recording engineer for the UTEP Wind Symphony’s CD as well as Dr. Macchioni’s latest CD, Latin American Duos, published by Centaur Records.

Nancy Taylor, Trumpet

Professor Nancy Taylor (also a licensed Occupational Therapist), published a book with Oxford University Press, titled Teaching Healthy Musicianship: The music educator’s guide to injury prevention and wellness. The book has been well received nationally and has led to numerous presentations and workshops nationally.

Dr. Steve Wilson, Trombone, Interim Chairman of the Department

Dr. Wilson performed with the Jim Widner Jazz Band in Omaha, NE, and presented a clinic at the Texas Bandmasters Association Conference in San Antonio, TX. Dr. Wilson was also active as an adjudicator for bands, jazz bands, and solo trombone in Houston, San Antonio, San Diego, and Anaheim. Dr. Wilson also presented a lecture at Leeds College of Music and worked to establish ties between both institutions, resulting in a residency in the Spring of 2016, as well as future invitations for UTEP students, greatly expanding study abroad opportunities for UTEP music students.

Dr. Stephen Nordstrom, Viola, Violin

Dr. Nordstrom performed at world-renowned Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan where he is on faculty for the summer sessions, and at the College Music Society’s National Conference in Indianapolis, IN. Dr. Nordstrom has also been very involved with helping to establish the ASTA String Project at UTEP.

Erik Unsworth, Bass

Professor Unsworth performed as a soloist with the UTEP Orchestra, Roswell Jazz Festival, and two overseas tours in Germany and Poland. He also offered a three-day summer camp for area bassists.

Brian Downen, Voice

Newly appointed Assistant Professor of Voice, Brian Downen, had an outstanding year performing with the prestigious Spoleto Festival USA, Shreveport Opera, Delaware Symphony Orchestra, and two engagements with the world-famous Metropolitan Opera in New York City. The Met Opera performances were broadcast in movie theatres nationwide. Mr. Downen has been offered additional roles with The Met this coming year.

Dr. Juanita Ulloa, Voice

Dr. Ulloa served as an adjudicator and clinician in Chihuahua, Mexico, where she was able to utilize her bilingual skills.

Dr. Curtis Tredway, Music Education, Director of Mariachi Los Mineros

Dr. Tredway was the featured clinician for the Region 22 High School All-Region Mixed Choir. He also presented clinics/workshops at the Technology in Music Education Conference in New York as well as at the Texas Music Educators Association Conference where the Mariachi Los Mineros Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Tredway, was featured.

Dr. Dominic Dousa, Composition

Dr. Dousa composed a new work for choir that was premiered in Leeds, England by the UTEP Chorale. He additionally had two other works premiered at international conferences in France, Peru, and Hungary. Dr. Dousa’s composition “New Era Overture” was selected as the winning entry out of 269 entries in the Joliet, IL Symphony’s 2015 Composition Competition, his “Sweet Little One” for concert band was accepted for publication in 2017 by Grand Mesa Music Publishers, and five of his compositions were selected for performance at various festivals/events at national venues in 2015 (NY, 2 in IN, OH, CO).

Dr. Brian Jarvis, Theory

Dr. Jarvis presented a paper at the national meeting of the Society for Music Theory and published an article in the Essays in Music Pedagogy series.

Dr. Charles F. Leinberger, Theory

Dr. Leinberger served on the Music Field of Study Advisory Committee, published an article in the International Trumpet Guild journal titled “Degücello,” No Mercy for the Losers: The Enduring Role of the Solo Trumpet in the Soundtrack of the Old West”, and presented at the International Trumpet Festival in California.

Lorenzo Candelaria, Music Literature

In addition to being the principal catalyst for the Music Unwound Project, Dr. Candelaria presented “Catholic Music in a Missionary Key: Sixteenth-Century Mexico and Its Lessons for Post-Conciliar Liturgies,” at the Liverpool Hope University Metropolitan Cathedral in the United Kingdom. Dr. Candelaria was a reviewer of two articles for the peer-reviewed, international, scholarly journals of Acta Musicological and Cuadernos de Música Iberoamericana. Dr. Candelaria acquired the Robert M. Stevenson papers for the UTEP Library Special Collections which is a significant contribution to the scholarship of Spanish and Latin American music.

Lindsey Macchiarella, Musicology

Dr. Macchiarella presented at the American Musicological Society’s national conference and started the Early Music Ensemble at UTEP.